Escaping - Remake
by Chikanpo
Summary: Being unable to pay their taxes, Len's family will be arrested in a week. His parents tell him to escape to their neighboring country, but the guards will likely be after him very quickly. Along the way, he meets Rin, another runaway, and they decide to travel together. Semi-medieval times. [LenxRin[noncest]


**A/N: I have done it! My old favorite story has been reborn! I went back and read through the old one and it was not done in a way I liked at all. This one will be more fleshed out with longer chapters, and shouldn't feel as slow paced as my old story. I hope you enjoy it, and please let me know if there are any errors you spot, as I have no beta reader as of yet. If anyone is interested just let me know :)**

**On to the story~**

* * *

**Prologue**

"Len!" a voice called.

"Yes mom?" a voice answered.

"Can you go make sure the horses have water?" the first voice requested.

"Of course mother," the second voice responded, its owner heading out to the stables. Len was a young man living on a farm with his family. The livestock was his duty, and he was very good at taking care of them. This was all he knew after all. His shoulder length blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail and he wore tough leather gloves to do his work. Walking into the stables, this man looked around the stables, making sure there was enough hay and water for all of the horses. One of the water troughs was a little low, so he headed to the well outside the stables to gather a couple of buckets of water to fill it. Once he was finished pouring the water and topping off the trough he walked up to one of the horses, a solid brown male.

"Hey there Click, I got you more water," he said to the horse, patting his back. "What do you say we go for a ride later?" the horse snorted and looked at him. Len laughed and pet its head, "I'll take that as a yes. Let me go tell my mother and I'll be right back". The horse shook itself and snorted again. Len rubbed its head one more time before heading back to the house.

"Mother? The horses are fine on food and water. Did you need me to do anything else?" Len asked as he walked into the kitchen where he saw his mother preparing dinner. She shook her head. "Alright, is it fine if I take Click for a ride? He's been cooped up too long". His mother nodded.

"Yes that's fine. I ask you don't take too long though. We need to talk as a family once your father gets back," she told him smiling. Len nodded and smiled.

"It has been a while since we have all sat down together hasn't it?" He replied, "I won't be too long then. Just enough to stretch his legs," he promised his mother, "I'll see you soon," he said. His mother nodded and he took his leave.

Saddling Click up quickly, Len was out in the field in just a couple of minutes. They had been so busy tending to the crops and livestock lately that his family hadn't had much time to themselves. The spring had not granted them many crops this year, and their livestock wasn't as healthy as they would like it to be. It had been hard up until now, and if they didn't harvest everything they could, they would be having a tough winter. They couldn't afford to pay for help this year, so they'd been spending all of their waking hours tending the farm. Len hadn't gotten much of a chance to ride Click, so it was nice to have a little bit of free time.

Click neighed and began to run faster without Len telling him to. Len laughed.

"You've been eager to get out too huh," Len asked the horse. The horse snorted in reply and continued speeding up. "Alright, well how about this? Let's go jump those fences, that should be some good exercise for you," he said as he steered Click towards the unoccupied pens that they would keep the chickens in during the day. Click gracefully jumped over the fence and continued to the next one, seemingly enjoying himself. After probably half an hour of Click jumping fences, Len noticed the sun begin to set.

"Sorry Click, but we have to head back now. Dad should be home soon," Len told his horse as he led Click back to the stables. "I'll take you out again as soon as I can okay buddy?" Len said as he took the saddle off and pet the horse.

When Len walked up the stairs to the door of his house, he noticed his father approaching in the distance on his own horse.

"Looks like I got back just in time! Hello Father!" Len called, waving to his father, "I'll let Mother know you're here," he told his father before heading inside.

The family was sitting around their table, having a dinner consisting of potatoes, carrots and chicken. Len's mother was a great cook, and everything tasted delicious. The family was having simple conversation about how they had been, how things were on the farm, the weather, whatever they could think of. They hadn't been able to just sit and talk, having been so busy. When everybody was finishing up their food, Len's father spoke up.

"I was in Rech these past couple days," Len's eyes widened. So that was why he had been gone for so long. No one in the family had been to the capitol in a long time. What did his father need to do there? "The tax collector had summoned me," he answered Len's silent question, "We have a week to gather the money". Len felt a sense of dread fill him. They hardly had enough money to pay for the food for their livestock as it was. There was no way they were going to be able to come up with the required money in time.

"What does that mean?" Len asked, fearing he already knew the answer. His mother looked at him solemnly.

"It means we won't be able to keep the farm. They're going to come take it from us in a week and throw us in the dungeon. There's no way for us to get that much money in time," she confirmed his suspicions. No! There had to be a way, they couldn't just be thrown in jail… As hard as he tried however, Len couldn't come up with any ideas.

"I'm sorry Len, I know this isn't fair to you and that we should have told you sooner, but nothing would have changed it," his father told him. Len sighed, that was true he supposed.

"I would have liked to know, but I suppose you're right," he replied, "So what are we going to do now?"

"You are going to leave the country" his father answered, his mother nodding. Len felt his eyes widen and the dreadful feeling in his chest got larger.

"And… You guys are coming right?" Len asked, fearing the answer. They had said 'you' after all… His suspicions were confirmed when his parents both shook their heads. "I can't just leave you guys!" he exclaimed, standing up and slamming his hands on the table, "There is _no_ way I am going to run away and leave you to be caught! What kind of son would I be if I did that?" He shook his head and sat back down.

"What kind of parents would we be if we took our son to jail when he had a chance to escape?" his mother countered, "If there is the slightest chance you can escape, we are going to take it. You will not be doomed to the same fate of life in prison, especially so young Len.

"Len, look at it this way. If you were me right now, would you want your only son stuck in jail for the rest of his life?" Len shook his head, his father was right. He wouldn't wish that on his son. "Exactly, now please, for us, escape from here. You have a week to get as far away as possible if you leave tomorrow morning. I would suggest you head for Mennes. It's probably a two or three week trip west of here. You'll be out of this country, away from their laws that way. You would be better off anywhere but here… Rechnes is not a good country to live in," his father shook his head sadly. "The taxes aren't as high there, and I'm sure you could find a place to stay. I hear everyone there is very nice".

"So I'm really leaving the country then…" Len stated this rather than asking, "So possibly a three week trip you said? I'll need to bring a lot of food and water then…" No point in arguing any further, his parents were dead set on him going and he wasn't going to disobey them. He'd best waste no time and gather what he would need.

"I'll gather up blankets and a tent for you," his mother stood up and left the room.

"You had better go pack some clothes and any personal things you want to bring. You'll likely never be able to come back here," his father told him sadly, "I'll go find some food that will last the trip for you," he then stood up and walked into the kitchen. Seeing no reason to stay in the empty room, Len stood up as well and headed for his room.

A large bag of clothes packed later, Len was looking though his personal belongings deciding what was important enough to keep and what wasn't. He didn't have much. He had a small spinning toy that he hadn't played with since he was a child, a small stuffed wolf that was like his best friend when he was younger, a family portrait, a couple of drawings on the walls and a couple of fantasy novels. The family portrait was a must bring, but what else? He no doubt wouldn't use the spinning toy and the drawings were terrible. But the books and stuffed wolf he was unsure about.

He wouldn't be doing much other than sitting on a horse going straight, so a book or two would be nice. He decided to bring his favorite of the novels. But the wolf, what would he do about it? After much thought, he decided to bring it. It wouldn't take up much space after all, and anything to remind him of his parents was good. They had gotten it for his birthday years ago, and he had always loved it. He had named it Claws, despite his mother saying he should call it Fang or Fluffy. He smiled at the thought. He had thought those were silly names, but now he realized that Claws is a little silly too.

It was getting harder to see and he realized that the sun had nearly set completely. Putting the novel and picture in his bag, he set it down and lay down on his bed. This would be the last time he could sleep on it. He shook his head sadly and looked over at his little wolf, sitting by itself on the shelf on the other end of the room. Sighing, Len stood up and walked over to the wolf. Claws had stayed on that shelf for years, but now Len wanted the comfort he used to get from his little wolf. He went back to bed and lay down again, sitting Claws next to his pillow. He rubbed its head and pulled it a little closer.

Tomorrow, everything would change.

* * *

Sunlight filtered through the window and lit the room with a slightly orange glow. Len rolled over to get the sun out of his eyes and was about to fall back asleep. When he remembered what had happened the night before however, his eyes shot wide open and he sat straight up. That's right. He had to leave today, to flee the country and never come back. Never see his house, his farm or his parents again. His shoulders sagged and he dropped his gaze to his lap. Claws looked up at him. Len smiled slightly, looks like he had held on to his stuffed wolf all night. He felt a little silly, but it had done the job and he had slept fine.

That didn't change the fact that he had to leave though. His eyes drooped a little and his shoulders sagged even more. He felt his heart beat quicken a little. He didn't want to leave, not at all. Abandoning his parents? A terrible thing to do! But they had told him to… The situation was finally hitting him. As soon as he walked out that door and got on that horse, he would never be able to return. A tear fell from his eye at the thought, falling onto Claws' head. Len rubbed his thumb over the spot where it fell and shook his head. No use crying over it now, there were things to be done…

With that thought, he set Claws down and got up, changing. He put Claws into his bag and lifted it up, eyes scouring the room to make sure he wouldn't regret leaving the rest. He saw his other two novels on the table near his bed and sighed. Why not? He still had room in his bag. He grabbed the novels and put them in as well before leaving his room for good.

The smell of eggs wafted through the air and led Len to the kitchen, where his mother was preparing breakfast. The last time he would taste her cooking. Tears almost welled up into his eyes again, but he held them back. He didn't want his mother saddened by his sadness. Sitting down silently, Len looked up at his mother. She was just about done with the eggs when his father walked in and sat down as well.

"Good morning…" Len said quietly, looking down at the table. Knuckles turning white, he gripped the edge of the table and tried to force his sadness away. There was warmth on his hand suddenly and he relaxed his grip.

"It'll be alright Len; please don't think about it too much right now. Let's just enjoy breakfast," his father said, rubbing his knuckles lightly with his thumb.

The family ate breakfast without much being said, as everyone was so lost in thought. Once everyone was done and the dishes were put away, the family gathered Len's things and headed out to the stables. There was the bag Len packed, the bag of blankets his mother packed, and the bag of food and water his father packed. When Len saw all of this, he had no idea how he was supposed to carry all of this stuff with him. His parents ended up putting a different kind of saddle on Click however. This one had hooks for bags.

"You have a week starting now Len. With all of these supplies, you will probably be better off walking next to Click while he carries the bags, that way you won't overload him. You won't be in a rush for the first little while so it should be okay. Once the week has passed and you've had some of the food and water, that should displace enough weight for you to be able to ride him without wearing him out," his father explained. Len nodded, that made sense.

"Here's a compass, it will help so you don't get lost. You know how to get out of the country right Len?" his mother asked, handing him a small silver compass. Len nodded.

"Yes, I just have to go northwest of here until I hit the border right? I'll just have to pass one main path and then I will be in the forest the whole way and I should be clear," Len replied, thinking of the countries layout in his head. His mother nodded.

"And you know how to set up the tent right?" his father asked. Len nodded at this as well.

"I used to camp out in the fields for fun, remember? I know how to set it up from those times," Len assured him. His parents both came over and embraced him tightly.

"Be safe out there Len. I want you to have a long happy life okay? That's why we're doing this, we don't want you trapped forever," his mother whispered to him. Len hugged them back just as tightly.

"I know mother, I will be as safe as possible. I will live for you guys as well as myself. Do whatever you can to get out of that prison okay? If you ever get out, come find me and we can all start over, okay?" Len told them, hoping that there was a way to see them again. He felt his parents nod.

"I'm not sure how likely that is, but we will try our best son, we would love to see how successful you become over in the other country," his father replied. They all separated from each other slowly and Len could see the beginnings of tears glistening in his mother's eyes.

"It'll be okay mother. I will be fine, and you guys will be free to come find me alright? Just believe that and it will happen," he told her, trying to reassure her before he began crying himself. She blinked the tears away and nodded.

"Of course. We will see you again Len. I look forward to seeing you safe and sound in Mennes".

And with that, Len was walking off with Click, waving his goodbyes to his family, hoping it would not be forever.

"Do you think he will be alright?" Len's mother looked at his father.

"Yes, he knows how to survive and people in Mennes are much friendlier than people here. He will be fine," he assured her as they watched their only son walk off into the distance.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Travelling for nearly a whole day on foot was tiring. Len sat down for his sixth break since he had left, and the sun was only halfway up the sky. He wasn't used to walking for long periods of time. If he ever had to move around the farm for long periods of time, he would ride Click. He usually just had to give the animals their food and water, and occasionally clean them. He wasn't very prepared for the amount of walking he would actually need to do for this. He could hear carts and horses neighing in the distance, so he knew he was near that path he would need to cross. He almost questioned himself about why he didn't just take the path in the first place, as it would be easier than walking over tree roots and trying not to trip. But he knew that he probably shouldn't let anyone spot him, lest guards came looking for him later.

Rubbing his aching legs, Len sighed. This would be his lunch break, he decided, as he grabbed some food out of the bag on Click's side. He offered his horse a carrot and ate some of the fruit, knowing it wouldn't last as long as the dried meat and beans he had. Thinking about his parents and how he may never see them again was all he could seem to do, though he didn't have the energy to be sad about it. He was simply too exhausted. Leaning against a tall oak tree, he decided to take a short nap.

Hoot hoot. He awoke to the sound of an owl hooting in the distance. Yawning, he realized something was wrong. It was dark. Had the walking really taken so much out of him that he slept through the whole day? What a huge waste of time! He couldn't travel at night, with the wolves and bears prowling around! And he had been sleeping out in the open, what if something had found him? Shaking his head at his stupidity, Len walked to his horse and grabbed the tent. It would be extremely difficult to set up in the dark, but luckily for him there seemed to be just enough moonlight to be able to see.

He set up the tent quickly and arranged a bed of blankets inside. Sleeping against a tree had made his back stiff, so he wanted something semi-comfortable to sleep on at least. He led Click to the small overhang on the side of the tent. It was something his father had added to the tent so they could bring a horse or two if they ever decided to camp out somewhere. A great addition to the tent for this situation Len thought. He closed up the tarp around the overhang so the horse couldn't be seen from outside and went back into the tent. He shut his eyes and tried to sleep, but having slept for so long already he found it hard.

Sleep was something he definitely needed now more than ever, but he knew he wouldn't be able to get it at that moment. His mind made up, he headed outside the tent again. He would need something to catch food with so he could save as much of the food he brought as possible. There were no bodies of water close, so fishing was out of the question, but maybe he could hunt small game like rabbits. He had no idea how to make or use a bow, but a spear was plausible.

A strong straight stick was not that difficult to find, the forest had plenty. He grabbed the straightest looking one he could see in the moonlight and set to carving a point using the machete he had brought for slicing small chips of wood off of firewood to use as kindling. He began feeling tired again as the moon was reaching just past the halfway point in the sky. He put down the machete and half complete spear inside the tent and finally fell asleep.

* * *

Packing up everything the next morning took longer than expected and he had overslept, so the sun was high in the sky before he was able to start moving again. Looking at his silver compass to verify the correct direction, he set off once again.

As he walked, he slowly chipped away at his new spear with the machete. By the time he made it to that path he needed to cross, it was complete. He put the machete away and admired his handiwork after sitting down for a break just out of view of the path. The point had numerous indents in it, but it was most definitely sharp. It should do fine for hunting.

Almost as soon as he thought it, he saw a rabbit hop out of a bush, not three feet away from him. He didn't think it noticed him either. It was too bad he was sitting down or it would be in reach. It slowly hopped closer, apparently heading for the tree next to him. He sat perfectly still and bided his time, hand clenched tightly around the spear. Just as it came into range, he grunted and swung the spear straight at it. Unfortunately for him, his grunt had alerted the rabbit and it hopped out of the way just in time, tearing off into the forest with a terrified squeak.

Len sighed and sat back against the tree. He knew it wouldn't be that easy, but he had hoped. No, hunting would take some practice. He was pretty sure a rabbit hopping straight at him would not happen again. Sitting there a little longer, he listened to the sounds of the path. Many horses trotted down it, carriages creaked down it. It was apparently a very busy path he realized. He wanted to cross it without being seen, so he would have to wait until it died down a bit. Unfortunately, it was taking way longer than he thought it would for that to happen. With all of these delays, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to get a very good head start.

Knowing that the path wouldn't clear up for a while, considering how high the sun was and how loud the noise was, he decided to try to practice his hunting. He crept slowly through the forest, parallel to the path, and was extremely careful to avoid cracking twigs and kicking rocks. After a little while of this, he felt he was beginning to get the hang of moving around quietly. Carefully scanning the forest floor, he looked for tracks of any kind, or any sign an animal had been here. Once he could learn to identify those, hunting would be much easier. There was an indent in the dirt he thought looked like a hoof print, but he didn't see any more so he couldn't be sure. For all he knew it could have been his own horse's.

Turning around, Len headed back in the direction he saw the rabbit take off. He knew it probably wasn't still in the area, but who knew? If it ran in that direction maybe that was because it felt safe there, maybe it had a warren there.

Len was surprised. His guess may actually have been right! In front of him were tons of holes in the ground, and he knew rabbits lived in holes in the ground. What luck! All he had to do was to wait silently and hope one came out. He had kept Click tied to a tree further back in case he got lucky like this. The sound of the path was still extremely loud, so he was in no hurry yet. He sat and waited for what was probably a couple of hours before he heard a quiet rustling. On instinct, Len immediately quieted his breathing and turned his head towards the sound. What looked like a little nose was poking out of one of the holes in a rock crevice near him. Finally a rabbit seemed to be coming out!

His grip on his spear tightened and he grew excited, but he couldn't move yet. He might alert it and scare it away. Anxiously, his heart beating fast, he waited and waited. Finally the creature decided it was safe to come out. Len realized something as he was about to lunge however, that was not a rabbit. It was carrying a dead rabbit in its mouth, but it was much larger than a rabbit. Much much larger he realized. His heart began to beat even faster. That was definitely something he should not be trying to hunt right now, and it was headed for an area just to his left. It had large pointed ears, with black tufts of fur at the top, a short tail, and when its claws slid out to scratch at a log on the ground, he could tell they were huge. Its sharp teeth were dug deep into the rabbit and it was bleeding, probably killed only recently. Maybe that den had another entrance? It turned its head and looked straight in his direction.

Freezing completely still like a statue, he didn't even dare to breath. He had no idea how to fight off a Lynx, not to mention the two others that had emerged right behind the first. They were _big_ too. Either they didn't see him somehow or they didn't care, because the one looked away and they headed off in the other direction. When he was sure they were gone, Len let out a big sigh of relief and took off out of there. He untied Click and went to just wait near the path again. He didn't want another run-in with those things.

* * *

It was nearly dark before the path finally quieted down. He needed to get to the other side before it was too dark to set up his tent or he would be stuck there another day. There were no loud noises coming from the path, so he quietly moved up and looked down the path both ways. Seeing nothing, he quickly led the horse across the path and into the forest on the other side. From here, it would be a straight shot to Mennes. With that in mind, Len set up his tent and went to sleep.

He actually woke up with the sun this time. The birds tweeting right outside his tent probably had helped with that. After packing up his stuff and getting ready to leave, he realized he had set up his tent right next to a birds nest. They apparently hadn't been very happy with that, and were now flying around him and diving at him. They were very small, so he wasn't worried about them, but he had heard that little birds' beaks could still be sharp and painful.

He didn't want a bird scratch, so he turned and left as soon as he could. Disturbing the birds wasn't really why he was here anyway. With the slow progress he had made the last couple of days, he had to try to make up some time.

From there, travel went slow but steady. He was better at walking for longer periods of time and didn't need breaks as often. Click appeared to be getting tired towards the evening. It wasn't getting dark yet, so Len didn't want to stop, but he also didn't want to over work his horse either. Deciding to stop, Len unpacked the tent and set it up next to a large apple tree. That was convenient, less food to waste from his storage. Click also seemed happy, as he picked up one of the apples and began to chew on it.

There wasn't much else to do for the night, so Len sat on a stump outside of his tent and decided to read one of his novels until it was dark. It would at least be a nice distraction, rather than sitting and worrying about if he would ever be able to come back.

Night began to fall, casting shadows across his book. Deciding that was a good sign to go to bed, he closed the book and went inside his tent. He wasn't exactly tired yet, but there was nothing else to do. It would be too dark to read soon and he had his spear made. Sighing, Len lay down on his makeshift bed and closed his eyes.

Sleep didn't come easily that night. All he could think about was his parents and how much he already missed them. Len wasn't sure how he was going handle possibly not seeing them ever again. Just thinking about it made his heart grow heavy. Reaching over to the bag next to his makeshift bed, he pulled out Claws. It looked like he would need the stuffed wolf on this trip more than ever before.

Holding on to it tightly, he managed to fall asleep before the moon was too high in the sky.

* * *

Waking up the next morning felt strange. There was dampness in the air and his bedding felt a little colder than usual. Looking outside, Len realized it had rained during the night. He was extremely thankful for the tent, considering how impossible it would have been to sleep without it, and he was sure Click was happy about it too. Thankfully the rain appeared to have stopped a while before he woke up, so he wouldn't be walking in it and the ground should dry out fairly quickly. It looked to be a bright day; there were no clouds and the sun was glistening in the sky.

More apples were his and Click's breakfast. Len decided to take some extras with him; you never know when you would need more food. After eating and packing up, Len checked his silver compass and started off northwest yet again. It was the fourth day since he had left, so there were only three more days after this before guards may come for him. He needed to get as far as he possibly could in those three days so it would be difficult for them to catch up. Len somewhat doubted they would come all that way just to find him however. Why would they bother searching so far for one person when they probably knew it was likely he would leave the country? He wasn't too worried about being chased, but it was better to be safe and travel fast than to not worry and wind up in jail.

As he was walking, Len looked around and absorbed the looks of the forest. He had never really observed it before, usually having been on the farm. The forest was a lot nicer than he had imagined; there was green everywhere, flowers occasionally and the way the sun filtered through the leaves left interesting patterns on the forest floor. The forest was kind of pretty, not too bad of a place to be travelling. It was a lot nicer to look at than the dirt packed, horse dung filled paths between towns. He used to think it would be a dark and frightening place, with wolves and lynx stalking you at every turn, bears around every tree. Being wrong had never made Len so happy before. Once he reached Mennes, Len wouldn't mind finding a small house or cottage to stay in near the woods, maybe find a job that wasn't on a farm. Sure he loved the farm and the animals, but the job depended on getting a good harvest. If that didn't happen, there wasn't much he could do for money.

Perhaps he could be a merchant or a tailor? He didn't know how to sew, but he could learn. A merchant may be a better choice however, since he knew fairly well how to sell fruits and livestock. Whatever it was, he decided he would like to be close to the forest. A hunter would be a great job for that, but he wasn't very good at it either. Who knows though, by the end of this trip he might be fairly good at it. Only time will tell, he would decide once he got there.

The sun was a little over halfway through the sky when Len decided it was time for a break. Click looked more tired than usual, so Len decided to take of the bags and let the horse relax a little. The clearing they had stopped in was a great place for a break and Len wanted to explore a little. One of the trees in the clearing had fairly low branches, so Len decided to climb up and take a look around. Climbing trees was something he had done a lot as a kid, so he scrambled to nearly the top of the tree with ease. Who knew, this skill could come in hand for checking if he is being pursued or not. From the top of the tree, Len couldn't see anything of interest. Tree tops and the path in the distance were all that greeted his eyes. He knew he had to be about halfway to the Mennes border by now, but he wouldn't be able to see it since he couldn't see his own farm anymore. There was another clearing off to his right and Len thought he could see a hole or two in the ground there. Maybe more hunting practice?

Len hopped out of the tree and carried his things up into the tree, in case something smelled his food and came for it while he was gone. Telling Click to stay put, he grabbed his makeshift spear and set off towards the clearing. Upon arriving in the clearing, Len realized that the holes he had seen were nothing but small indents in the ground where it looked like a rock had been pushed over. The rock in question was by a larger looking rocky formation that had a large hole in it and was dug slightly into the ground elevated behind it. Quickly, Len took off back towards his stuff; he did not want to know what could be inside a den that big.

Just as he got back to the clearing he had stopped in, there was a loud high pitched scream in the distance. Briefly, Len wondered if he should pack up his things and take off now, but the scream echoed again, this time much closer. Someone was in danger, and he felt it probably had something to do with the animal that lived in that den. Closer and closer the screaming seemed to get, so Len instinctively grabbed his makeshift spear and climbed onto Click's back where he felt safer. Whoever was screaming was about to run past the clearing he was in, so he urged Click to begin moving in that direction. The horse seemed nervous, but obeyed Len anyway.

As soon as Click started to move, the scream cut off and a person flew through the brush and landed almost face first in the clearing. A horse took off in the other direction, so it was safe to assume the horse had thrown the person off. Len was about to get off of Click to help them when he heard an ominous growl just past the bush the person had flown in through. Len froze.

Huge claws began separating the branches of the bush, snapping quite a few of them. A large brown muzzle, dripping with saliva appeared, just before the creature smashed its way through the bush and barreled towards the prone person on the ground. It had apparently decided they were easier prey than the horse was. Len snapped to action at the sight.

Yelling at the bear he urged Click to move towards it, and while Click was no warhorse he obeyed Len without question, albeit reluctantly. Looking up at him, the bear opened its jaws and let out a huge roar before standing on its hind legs to face him. Len gulped, the bear was taller than he was on top of Click, one swipe from its giant clawed forepaws and he would be down in an instant. If Len backed off however, that person was as good as dead and he would not allow that to happen. Standing in the stirrups while balancing with the horn of the saddle, he brought himself closer to the bear's height and waved the spear at it. The bear didn't seem to expect this and took a step back, probably unsure if this was really worth it. Len saw this and hoped he could really scare it off.

Upon getting close enough, the bear prepared to swing at him. Len swung Click around, just out of range of the swipe, and pointed his spear at where it would swipe. The spear sunk into the bear's paw and it let out a roar of pain. The spear had splintered upon impact and would no longer be useful, but it seemed to have done its job as the bear quickly turned around and lumbered away, grunting each time it put the injured paw down. Tossing down the remains of his spear, Len jumped off the horse and rushed to the person on the ground. They hadn't moved or said anything since being thrown into the clearing.

Len realized with horror that this person's side had been scratched deeply, as blood was flowing freely and turning their once white shirt very red. Thinking quickly he ripped a bit off of the bottom of his shirt (it was torn up anyway) and pressed it against the wound.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked the person. There was no response. Keeping the cloth pressed on the wound, Len turned the person over carefully to lie on their back. It was a girl, Len realized, probably just a little younger than he was, and she was obviously in pain. Her face was scrunched up and she was breathing very quickly, probably in a panic. "It's alright, the bear is gone. Just calm down and you will be okay. Talk to me," he told her. If he calmed her down she would have a better chance of surviving, and the wound probably wasn't as bad as it had seemed at first. The blood flow had already nearly stopped thanks to the cloth he placed over it.

"It's gone…?" he heard the girl quietly say. Len's gaze snapped from the wound to the girls face. It was still scrunched in pain, but she seemed a little calmer and had her eyes open. Nodding, Len answered her.

"Yes, I managed to scare it away and stop the bleeding. I know it probably hurts badly right now, but you should be okay," she sighed in relief and closed her eyes again.

"When that thing hit me off of Josephine I didn't think I would survive," she exclaimed. Suddenly she tensed and lurched forwards and tried to sit up, but it obviously hurt badly and she flopped back down. "Josephine! Where is she? The bear didn't get her did it?" She looked up at Len, pleading him to tell her Josephine was alright.

"If Josephine is the horse you were on, she ran off when the bear knocked you down. It ignored her and came after you so she should be okay," he assured her, "I don't know where she ran off to though". The girl let out a sigh of relief and relaxed again.

"Why did you help me? How did you scare it off?" she asked him, "What's your name?" She seemed very surprised that he had managed to scare off the huge bear all by himself. He wondered himself how he had done it.

"I helped because I couldn't just let someone die," he answered, "I would feel terrible if I had. I honestly don't know how I scared it. I swung my spear at it and it broke the spear, but I guess it hurt enough for the bear to back off. My name is Len, what about you? What can I call you?" he asked her. She smiled.

"I'm Rin. Thank you so much for scaring that off, you saved my life," she thanked him. Len just nodded, unsure what to do next. The bleeding had stopped, but she probably wouldn't be able to move for a while and he couldn't just leave her there. What if the bear came back? But he also needed to move and get as far as he could with the rest of the day. The encounter with the bear had taken a lot out of him however, because being scared had sapped his energy. Rin could sense he was unsure about something from the look on his face, so she spoke up.

"Do you mind if I stay with you for a little while? I don't think I should move quite yet…" she asked. She didn't want to burden him, but she didn't want to be left alone either, especially since Josephine had run off. Rin was sure the horse would be able to make it back just fine, but where would that leave her. Len nodded. He was tired as well and he couldn't just leave her, so his decision was made.

"Yeah that's fine. I guess I'll just set up camp here for the night then. You shouldn't move around too much, so just stay here okay?" Rin nodded. "Alright I'll be right back, Click you stay here," he told his horse. Click could keep Rin company. Len walked back to the tree he had stored his things in and began taking them out. Once the tent was set up, he let Rin rest inside while he set to making a new spear. He would need it if that bear came back. Rin concerned him more than the bear however.

She was injured and wouldn't be able to move for a while and they were in the middle of the forest. There was no we he could take her back to get medical care any time soon. What was she doing all the way out here anyway? He had to keep traveling no matter what, but he couldn't just take her with him. She had her own things to do, there was probably a reason she was out in the forest. Traveling quickly would not be possible with an injured girl, especially one he knew nothing about. Len didn't know what to do. All he did know was that she had very pretty blue eyes.

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**A/N: I won't have fast updates due to the fact that I am in college now, but the updates should hopefully have more quality than they did before and they will definitely be longer. Please let me know what you thought of this new version (or if you never read the old one, what you think of the story) and if anyone is interested in being a beta let me know.**

**I'll try to update every month, but I won't promise because Digipen is NUTS with homework lol. I'm surprised I got this much done.**

**~Chika**


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